WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- State Sen. George Latimer's campaign has filed designating petitions with nearly 4,000 signatures from registered Democrats throughout the 37th District.

The signatures obtained by Latimer and local Democratic volunteers are nearly four times the amount required to qualify for the ballot in the fall.

"This is a great outpouring of real grass-roots support in every part of the district," said Latimer, who is running for his second term in the state Senate.

"As someone who spends a great amount of time in the communities I represent, I always enjoy working with local party leaders and activists to help gather signatures and have another opportunity to discuss important issues with people on a one-by-one basis."

The petition-gathering process is widely viewed as a “dry run” of the campaign’s operation and an early test of ability to reach large chunks of voters in a condensed period of time. Latimer's strength in this area was one of the significant factors in his 2012 victory and will remain a priority in 2014.

"Even with no announced opponent, it is still important to me to get out and meet as many voters as I can. I believe that over the last two years, New York has taken strides in the right direction, and that gives me confidence that we will be able to tackle the next set of challenges head on. I'm thankful to all of the people that carried petitions, both with and without me, for helping spread that message."

To qualify for the ballot, candidates must submit a required amount of signatures that is determined by the amount of party registrants in a given area. One thousand signatures are needed to qualify for the Democratic line in the 37th Senate District.